Fleisch und Stein
by helnae
Summary: An SI story, wherein which being dumped into another world with nothing but the clothes on your back and a distinct lack of access to necessary medications makes for decision making that is somewhat less than calm, stable, and rational. Who'd've thunk it?
1. I - Staring Into My Eyes

The only thought drifting through my mind as I stared into my own eyes twice over was that, somehow, this didn't feel like a dream.

I mean, sure, suddenly finding myself piloting two instances of my own body at once did seem more like something that might happen in a dream and not reality, but I knew my dreams, what they were like. This wasn't nearly as float-ey or abstract, nor as… okay, maybe instead of being more or less, it was just differently fucked-up, but still. Also, there were no random repetitions of events, and my sense of touch was fully functional. Not to mention I probably wouldn't feel so _fucking tired_ in a dream. So, much as I disliked the circumstances, I was awake.

Y'know, I could really go for one of those dreams right now. Maybe the one with the endlessly replicating fear cubes, or the one with the naked stripper dancing while peeling off strips of her skin. Those were classic.

Sighing in stereo, I started looking around with both bodies, and immediately, before I even registered what I saw, I was struck by all the disorientation I wasn't feeling. The experience of looking at two different things with two separate pairs of eyes at once really had no right feeling as… as _natural_ as it did. I didn't experience it as two images side-by-side or anything like that, nor did they overlap. It was just like looking at things normally, except doubled, and I could split my attention between them with literally no effort. I soon found the entirety of my split attention grabbed by a far more pressing issue.

Namely, my glasses were nowhere to be found. Each of my bodies had equally shittastic vision that blurred everything to fuck, and despite that, it was very easy to see that I was about as far from being home and in bed as I could get. My other senses decided to report their findings as well, providing further confirmation.

Apparently I had been laying on top of a flat-ish, mostly buried boulder. Thankfully, it was cushioned just a little by being mostly covered in soft moss. In every direction around me stood what I could only assume were trees. Some grew straight while others were more warped and twisted, and the ground surrounding my rock was but sparsely dappled with what blotches of light managed to penetrate the canopy above. Occasional signs of movement drew my gazes to various points in the undergrowth, but even when I squinted I couldn't determine the sources.

So, apparently I'd been doubled and dropped sans glasses in a forest somewhere that, I was coming to realize, was actually kinda chilly, not to mention completely unknown to me. A part of myself made the quite reasonable suggestion that I give in to panic, and I actually started to hyperventilate before I got a grip on myself and focused on taking calm, steady breaths. Panicking would be worse than useless now, and figuring out what the fuck was going on would have to wait until later. For now, I needed to focus on getting to safety.

It took a minute, but I managed to get both of myself to move into sitting positions so I could take stock of what resources I had available to me. What I found made it that much harder for me to hold onto hope. Each of my bodies was wearing a dress (one of my favorites, green with a mitosis pattern, and pockets!) and a simple necklace with a small, princess-cut, simulated emerald pendant. Beyond that, I had nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Not my wallet and ID, not my shitty flip phone, not even any shoes.

Well, actually, each of my bodies did have something else on them that I found in the process of taking stock: a tattoo of some sort, covering much of the undersides of each of my left arms with small text that I had to bring within inches of my eyes to even make out. Once I was able to actually read it, the sheer WTF-ness of the situation quickly began to skyrocket.

_Hello there, Helena! We'd like to congratulate you on being the thirty-seventh successful product of our experimental flash-cloning technology! Well, we say flash-cloning, but it's really more of a method of performing a rapid, incredibly-detailed scan of a living being without harming said being in the process, making edits to the data thus obtained in order to repair or alter portions as needed, and then using that data to swiftly print a copy of either a specific portion of that being, or their entire bodies, as is the case with you. So yes, you are a nigh-perfect copy of the original you, down to the exact configuration of the gray matter containing your memories, personality, and whatnot. Your original remains where we found her, completely unaware that the scan ever happened._

_Before you ask, no, you were not chosen to be scanned because we absolutely needed you for whatever. You merely had the variable fortune to have been within the area where we were collecting initial samples. Oh, and compared to most of the products made before you, both successful and not, you're being dealt a relatively good hand here._

_Now, you have been released on a lovely little world known as Earth Bet, in the general vicinity of the city of Brockton Bay, as part of the experiment involving the multidimensional beings native to that particular multiverse. As such, we have connected a few of the shards we have managed to obtain to you and induced an artificial trigger event, resulting in you obtaining the approximate equivalent of four powers. Two of those powers are currently suppressed so as to help ease you into your situation there. We wouldn't want you rendered catatonic and vulnerable right out of the gate due to information overload and thereby waste our investment, after all. Spacing the shocks out a little should work a treat. In addition, a slight, and temporary, alteration to your brain has significantly heightened your neuroplasticity for the next day or so, which should further ease things for you._

_But you want to hear about your powers, don't you? Of course you do._

_Your first power is a form of self-targeted biokinesis. On average, it is pretty quick to make the changes you want it to make, though some changes are swifter while others are slower. Naturally, you are limited by the amount of biomass you have available. _

_Your second power enables the manipulation of nonliving solid matter in an area around you, in addition to providing some sensory feedback. It, and the previous power, are the two that are currently suppressed._

_The third power, you have no doubt already noticed. It is what allows you to exist in two bodies simultaneously. Unfortunately, it does not allow you more than two at a time. That said, you can merge your bodies together for a time, which will grant you enhanced mental abilities for the duration, in addition to empowering your previous two powers to a certain extent._

_Unlike your other powers, the final one is purely passive, rendering you essentially undetectable to Shard-based precognition. 'Cause at this point, why not?_

_Now, a final note before you go: we'll be watching your every action, but don't expect us to help you further in any way. Also, try to survive longer than a month? I have some money riding on it. Have fun! We certainly will._

_Press the following word firmly to unlock your suppressed powers._

_Proceed?_

… What.

No, seriously. Was this a joke of some kind? My family wouldn't do anything like this, and I didn't exactly have any local friends inclined to such acts (or, well, any local friends, period), so there were exactly zero suspects who would have the motivation to do something like this to me as a prank, and that wasn't even acknowledging the whole suddenly-twins thing. There was no way I could think of that this could be a joke or a prank, but… it had to be…

I needed it to be…

Please?

"Please, please, please," my voice murmured from both of my mouths, making me jerk in surprise. It wasn't the fact that the words had been spoken without my input that startled me, of course. It happened often enough that I was used to it, and might be caused by my habit of not saying more than a handful of words aloud per day on average. No, it was the fact that, with two bodies, I could hear exactly what my voice sounded like. How… _wrong_ it felt. My bodies sagged against one another, shoulder-to-shoulder as the bitter feelings welling up within me made me shudder.

And yet, despite how awful it felt, the dull misery was familiar, a known factor, and for once I did not try to ignore its presence. Rather, I clung to it, wrapping it around myself like a fresh and bloody animal skin to ward away the rising panic, even as the bone-deep sense of violation soaked in.

The mass of dysphoria grew under my focused attention, its cancerous bulk tugging me down. Away from the panic, yes, but deeper into the pit of depression, weighing me down until I couldn't muster the energy to move, to feel, to even _speak_. My bodies simply went limp, propping each other up.

Were I anywhere else, I might have allowed myself to just wallow in that muck until its hold on me gradually began to loosen, eventually letting me slip free. However, I was pretty sure that sacrificing a few hours in that manner would have some unpleasant consequences, thanks to my current situation. Gathering what scraps of mental energy I could, I closed my mind's eye, then opened it to focus on calming thoughts, reminding myself that I was not my body, that it was more akin to clothing I'd been forced to wear. And now…

My unfocused eyes widened as the implications of what the tattoo had said filtered through my mind. I had the tools necessary to reshape my shell into the form I'd been cheated out of at birth. Granted, they were deactivated at the moment, but accessing them would be as simple as pressing a button. With that goal in mind, close enough to practically taste, my struggles to break free redoubled in their intensity.

Thankfully, it only took a little over five minutes for my eyes to refocus and I was able to break past the phantom gravity. Knowing I couldn't afford to hesitate and risk losing my mental inertia, I raised my left arms again to look at the tattoos, then grabbed them with my other hands and simultaneously pressed my thumbs firmly into the final word of each identical tattoo.

Almost immediately, I felt a most peculiar sensation where the tattoos were. The only description I could think of was that I was being tickled, except under my skin and with dozens of sharp sewing needles. The sensations traveled with the ink as each tattoo flowed into a single, broad circle of pigment, which proceeded to skitter up my arms and under my sleeves. In under a second the sensations reached my skulls and sank through them.

Then, before I could so much as twitch, all thoughts in my mind were washed away as my world _exploded_.

**.o.o.o.**

I do not know how long I spent insensate, far too busy attempting to adapt to the sudden deluge of new sensory information to be able to so much as think. I was aware, yes, but only of the fact that I was aware, and the way my perception had expanded, both outward and inward. Without being able to even sense the passage of time I had no idea how long I'd spent like that, though on some level at least I knew that it was getting progressively easier to deal with my new senses.

Thankfully, once everything had squished together properly to the point that I could actually, consciously perceive the ache of sitting in the same position for who knows how long, I still had sunlight with which to work. Sure, the splotches of light on the ground had moved by, what, ten feet or so? But even so, the sun was still high in the sky. I still had time with which to make my way out of the middle of nowhere.

Of course, I chose that moment to have both of my bodies straighten up, and the resulting whining of my muscles made me turn my attention inward, leaving me with a metaphorical eyeful of all the parts of my bodies I least wanted to acknowledge. Sure, a huge portion of my innards were all squishy and gross in a way I was now intimately aware of, but that, I could deal with surprisingly easily. No, it was things like the facial hair follicles whose handiwork had been the bane of my mornings every day of my transition that made me grit my teeth in unfiltered revulsion. If only…

Something within me reached out to a patch of my cheek, and extruded keratin was withdrawn and whisked away to storage, follicles were cannibalized, and soon no evidence that facial hair had ever blighted that spot remained.

With wide eyes and the beginnings of an amazed smile, I did the same with the rest of my faces.

Gone. It was gone, forever! I'd never have to deal with it again!

… I'll admit that I laughed gleefully for a moment there, each of my bodies turning to hug the other, the sensation of their smooth cheeks rubbing together further bolstering my joy.

Of course, my joy was soon dampened by a twinge of discomfort in my heads reminding me of what I still had to deal with. If the tattoo was to be believed, and honestly I saw no reason not to, I was in the setting of Worm, with no documentation or anything in all likelihood. That meant I had no access to the various medications I was taking, and it'd really suck until I could get access, assuming I could even remember the exact names and dosages, or that the same meds existed under the same names here. Which, in turn, meant I'd have to deal with all the bullshit the pills were meant to deal with. Farewell, happiness and motivation, I hardly knew ye.

But, wait. I could manipulate my body. Could I… could I change my brain, fix that which made me need medication?

With that thought, my inner sight turned to the organs in question, and I was immediately made aware of the portion that I was only able to perceive as an oddly-shaped hole in each of my brains. It took me a moment, but I soon realized that this untouchable area, oddly shaped and with little tendrils of nothingness reaching out to other parts of my brain, could only be the corona pollentia and gemma. It looked nothing like the little spherical tumor I'd been unable to stop imagining it looking like. After coming to that conclusion, I felt a pulse of gratitude to my shards that I wouldn't be able to accidentally Kheprify myself, even as I mucked around with the rest of the soggy bacon that was the hardware on which my self ran.

Speaking of, as I observed the rest of my brains, I got the firm impression that I could most definitely accomplish what I wished. But I could do more than merely fix the deficiencies; I could also make improvements. A little twist and such here would improve my reaction speeds, a similar alteration there could hasten my thoughts. So much I could improve! Though that did raise a rather pressing issue: namely, how much could I change and still remain myself?

My powers were no help, of course, but I came to a decision soon enough without it. Any change, even the ones to eliminate the deficiencies I had to deal with, could very well count as a fundamental change to who I am. But even if the changes I make result in someone who is me without me being her, it'd be worth it to not have to deal with the depression and everything else. Dealing with them means I am merely surviving day to day, and for once I'd like to live, actually live! Is that so much to ask?

With my decision made, however hasty it might have been, I reached into my brains and made my first ch—


	2. II - Brave New Me

Joyful, and decidedly _feminine_, laughter from two harmonizing sources rang through the clearing. My bodies danced, and I felt the joy of movement as, for once, it was not immediately and aggressively pared down by ever present melancholy. Why was I celebrating? It worked! I'd been able to sculpt my brains and bodies exactly how I wanted!

After fixing the chemical imbalances that caused my depression, and undoing my dependency on my medications, I'd found that there were quite a number of other improvements I could make to my brain to make my life better. Naturally, after having already made some changes to the area, I couldn't help but make a few more!

I was now able to raise and lower the maximum heights my emotions could reach. Of course, it wasn't really like dialing the volume of an amplifier up or down, but the metaphor seemed to fit well enough. With my depression dealt with, I didn't feel any need to dial up the maximums for any emotions, but the ones I most associated with my depression I dialed down to minimum levels. I'd experienced quite enough of them, thank you very much.

I had also enhanced the speed of my thoughts and reactions, and extended the duration of the neuroplasticity enhancement I'd received by a good margin. My memory, which I'd known to be spotty at the best of times, also got a tuneup, though I hadn't foreseen it making some of my memories notably cloudier, while others became clearer by far, with no discernable rhyme or reason. For all I knew, some memories might be lost forever, though I had the feeling that I'd retained the most important ones.

Outside my brains, I'd also sculpted and changed my bodies. I'd gone from a slightly overweight, 5'9" woman to a rather slender one more than half a foot shorter and with a slightly smaller bosom to fit my new frame. Naturally, I'd applied the same changes to both of my bodies equally. I put a good deal of effort into making my bodies look like identical twins from the outside, if particularly attractive ones. After getting the shape right and clearing up all the scars and whatnot, I'd done away with the vast majority of my freckles, leaving my skin lovely and pale. I'd withdrawn every visible hair on my body save my eyelashes and (most of) my eyebrows, before growing a new head of hair, just as long and curly and coppery as it had been before, but so very glossy from relative youth and lack of damage. My teeth I whitened a little, before a whim saw me lengthening and sharpening my eyeteeth a tad. My face's shape, of course, I made more feminine, and my eyes slightly larger. My vision became better than 20/20, and the central heterochromia I was born with, brown surrounded by gray, became the more well-known version; specifically, my left eyes became the lightest, iciest blue I could make, while my right eyes, I made the darkest blue a human could naturally possess.

My insides, naturally, differed far more from baseline human anatomy than the outsides. My musculoskeletal systems looked normal, my bodies looking slightly muscular but hardly ripped, but on the inside, it was very, _very_ much denser, stronger, and more durable than normal. Despite shrinking my bodies to the point where they looked like they should weigh but half what they had before, I hadn't discarded a single milligram of mass from either.

Almost the entirety of the contents of my abdominal cavities had been cannibalized, save for a fist-sized cluster of highly efficient replacement organs near the top of each, and a brand new, but completely baseline, womb. The rest of the space I filled with compressed flesh to use in transformations. I technically didn't need the uteri, especially since their menstrual cycles had been set on hold for the foreseeable future. but since my power kept me intimately acquainted with my insides, being able to feel them there simply made me feel that much better. I wasn't trying to make my bodies perfectly optimized for combat, and I deserved to feel nice and have a good time.

My thoracic cavities and the organs they contained seemed more normal, though I'd made my hearts and lungs more efficient because why not? Speaking of my hearts, the circulatory systems of my smaller bodies each contained more blood than my larger, baseline bodies had possessed. No real reason for that – I wanted to be able to bleed a lot and have fun freaking people out. My blood wasn't my bodies' primary means of transporting oxygen, nutrients, and waste products anymore, so I could afford to bleed a lot. Oh, and while I'd been messing around with blood, I'd gone back to my brain to mess around with my sense of pain. Pain was important, and knowing what bits of me might be damaged was too valuable to discard. The sensation of pain, though, I altered, changing it from something that felt bad to something that felt good. I could easily fix any injuries I might receive, so there wasn't much downside there. Also, more opportunities to have fun freaking people out!

For a moment, I wondered if I was even still human, before I forcefully discarded the thought. I was not my body, no matter what form it took. And even if I was forced to be a monster, if being one would allow me to _live_ instead of merely drifting through life, I would welcome it with open arms. I was me, no matter what form I took.

Once I was done rearranging my insides and I'd made sure to memorize every aspect of my new forms, my focus turned toward leaving the clearing. My bare feet posed a problem, but I grew two pairs of black leather knee-high boots, which I summarily killed and separated from myself. Using my outer power, I fashioned some seamless socks from the excess fabric generated by tailoring my dresses to my bodies' new dimensions and put them on, followed by the new boots.

Speaking of my outer power... well. The tattoo had called it "a form of" solid matter manipulation, and the form it took was _amazin_g. It was a field that could only exist in solid, non-living matter, extending through touch. Each of my bodies had its own field, but rather than overlapping, they pooled together if they met. The field would expand to its maximum volume in a hemisphere in the ground below me. I could sense the physical makeup of the matter within it, and will the relevant matter to flow into different shapes, while remaining fully solid. For example, I could tell that the stone in my pendant was colored quartz rather than actual emerald, which wasn't exactly a surprise. It was cheap, but looked pretty, which was what had mattered to me.

In addition, I could sense vibrations traveling through the material within my field. The maximum volume I could affect seemed, quite frankly, pretty huge, though given the lack of units of measurement being provided I couldn't say precisely how large it was. Something to check later.

Taking my various powers all together, and the fact that I really had wanted something of the sort in idle speculations before… all this, really drove home the fact that I had not triggered in anything approaching the traditional way. A sobering thought, truth be told, and one that calmed my moment of glee and triumph.

But unalterable circumstances aside, I needed to find my way to Brockton Bay… or, did I truly need to? Technically not, I suppose. I could, in theory, go anywhere. But I was, apparently, somewhat close to the Bay, and I knew of more of its dangers than I did any other city on Bet. That, in turn, made me think of Taylor Hebert, and how me going to BB might disrupt her path to becoming Khepri, defeating Scion, and saving these Earths from destruction. Assuming this was canon Worm, of course.

_Urgh_. Now that I thought about it, doing anything other than staying in this clearing and never leaving ran the risk of butterflying these worlds into unstopped destruction, but for one, I couldn't be sure that not leaving _wouldn't_ mess with things, and for another, it wouldn't be _living_. At the moment, to be perfectly honest, I valued getting to live for a time over possibly not fucking over the worlds.

You know what? Fuck it. I'm heading to Brockton Bay. I can always leave later if need be. Now, which way should I head?

I started to look around for a good tree to climb for a decent view, when I realized that I could just make my own! With… with, uh… that one Futurama reference. Yeah.

Anyway, as it turned out, there was a lot of stone not all that far under the soil in the clearing, and it didn't take much to start gathering it onto a column that slowly rose beneath one of my bodies. Soil was shifted aside to make way for the flat, meter-wide top to emerge and lift my body up towards the canopy above. Flesh flowed through my rising form to emerge as a trio of long, muscular, blade-tipped tentacles from the palm of each hand, lashing out to sever branches before I reached them, collecting what fell for consumption. After I broke through the canopy and took care of the severed branches, I withdrew the tentacles and returned to my new normal form in full.

I built the column up until it towered a few meters above even the tallest of the nearby trees. From my high perch, I spotted evidence of civilization to the south-east of me, judging from the early evening sun. However, less than half as far from me, I caught sight of a road that, one way or another, could lead me to my destination.

Descent was as simple as ascent had been, naturally. On an amused whim, I had the center of the column take me down, decorating the interior of the resulting tube with rifling, as if it were the barrel of a gun. Opening a door at the bottom to allow my body to exit and then sealing it up behind her was simplicity itself. I looked up at the column, then frowned at how plain it was from the outside. With a few minutes of attention, it had the appearance of being cradled in the arms of an enormous octopus, and I felt pleased at the accomplishment. With all that done, I turned in the direction the underground stone arrow pointing towards the road dictated, and, as my bodies held one another's hands to equalize biomass, I set off.

After a minute of walking, I frowned. If I didn't want to instantly give away my parahuman nature, I'd have to act like my bodies were separate people from one another. That meant they needed individual names. But what names to choose…

… Tabitha. I had an original Worm character named Tabitha Blair, and while her power to manifest gravity-defying crystals of explosive energy wasn't like anything at my disposal, her name would do nicely. And her sister would be… Acacia.

I had Tabitha adopt a wider smile than the one Acacia bore, and I swapped Acacia's eyes so hers were dark blue on the left and light on the right.

Yes, this would do nicely.

**.o.o.o.**

It took about half an hour of leisurely walking to reach the road, with Tabitha humming cheerfully and holding Acacia's hand the whole way there. As it turned out, making a straight ridge in the stone beneath the soil really helped me keep my directions straight when there wasn't a path to follow.

I heard and felt the road long before I saw it, the sound of the occasional car making it through the trees, and then the sensation of my field permeating pavement not long after. With the road to guide me, I turned to follow it while remaining in the trees, not wanting to risk hitching a ride.

A mere handful of steps later I stopped as the silliness of my concerns filtered through my mind. I had at my disposal some pretty strong powers, so I had nothing to fear from whatever potential creep might try to victimize me. In fact, it might be good if I hitchhiked, since if I encountered a predator I could deal with them easily.

My decision made, I moved out to walk alongside the road, with Tabitha doing the thumb thing whenever a car approached. And a mere eight vehicles and ten minutes later, one deigned to pull over to the shoulder along side the two of me, and I approached, easy smiles on my faces. Time to secure a ride, one way or another.


	3. III - Just Enough Truth

The driver, a somewhat handsome man in his mid-twenties with a close-trimmed black beard, returned my smiles as he rolled down the passenger window. "Hey, there," he said, his brown eyes widening a tad as Tabitha met them with her own. He quickly gave my bodies a once-over, arching an eyebrow slightly. "Where are you ladies headed?"

"Just into Brockton," Tabitha replied while Acacia nodded. My outer power flowed through his car and into his clothes and the contents of his pockets, revealing to me the expected wallet and phone, along with what felt like a pocket knife. Some part of me was mildly disappointed to not find a gun anywhere on him or in the car, but the rest of me was relieved. "I'm Tabitha, by the way," she continued, before putting an arm around my other body's shoulders. "And this cutie is my sister, Acacia." I had Acacia blush lightly.

"Nice to meet the both of you," he said, seeming to relax slightly. "I'm headed for Brockton Heights, is that fine?"

"Yeah," Tabitha replied as I did an admirable job of concealing the fact that I had no clue what he was referring to, if I do say so myself. I assumed it was a neighborhood, possibly in the vicinity of Captain's Hill. "That'll be fine."

"Well, hop in!" he said, and I did so, Tabitha in the front seat and Acacia in the back. "The name's Jacob, by the way," he added, holding out a hand to shake Tabitha's.

I froze for a moment in sudden panic as the knife in his pocket took on a more sinister connotation, before mentally shaking my head. This couldn't be Jack Slash, that'd just be too contrived to be believable. Besides, this Jacob was a little darker than the vague mental image I had of Jack.

Thanks to my newly enhanced speed of thought, and the fact that I'd let Acacia do much of the freezing, hopefully he hadn't noticed my hesitation. Still smiling, Tabitha took his hand in a grip with a firmness matching his own, and we shook, before he reached back to do the same with my other body. And with that, we were off.

It wasn't long, though, before I found my selves gritting my teeth in discomfort as the speed of my field's propagation was outstripped by that of the car. With my field continuously trying to expand into the road, and those parts getting sheared off and left behind, I was starting to feel a headache from behind all my eyes. In an effort to make it stop, I focused through Acacia to rein it in, to compress it within the car until it finally stopped trying to expand. Naturally, having the field concentrated in the car gave me a metaphorical eyeful of its composition, in greater detail than I'd been getting before. Every moving part, every structural component, every wire and tube and patch of metal fatigue made itself known. Maybe I could repay Jacob for letting me hitch a ride by doing some minor repairs? I might not be a mechanic, exactly, but mending the obvious wear and tear shouldn't be—

"So." Tabitha jumped slightly in surprise as Jacob's voice cut through my concentration. "What's your story? Why were the two of you looking for a ride out here, with no bags or anything? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh. It's, um…" I let Tabitha's gaze drop to her lap as I tried to think of how I should answer. I could lie, maybe, make up a story. If I did, it'd be best to not include too many details, of course, but could I come up with something sufficiently convincing? And on the other hand…

Tabitha glanced at Jacob out of the corner of her eye. His expression had turned a little more concerned than it had been.

On the other hand, I could tell him the truth, or at least a version of it. I could share enough details for him to possibly offer to take me to the PRT for help. They had Case 53s in their ranks, so they had to have precedent for how to help people get added to the system and all that jazz. Just thinking about it, I wasn't really looking to become a hero, but I was sure I could work something out. Hopefully.

"... You don't have to answer if it's too personal," Jacob said, sympathy in his tone.

"N-no, no, it's not like that." Tabitha sighed. "Look, last night, I went to sleep at home, in my bed." I paused as he frowned. "In Texas."

That got him to glance at Tabitha with raised eyebrows, before returning his eyes to the road. "Well, now. That's quite a ways from here."

"Where is 'here', by the way? When we woke up on a rock in the forest there, we had a note that said we were near Brockton Bay, but I can't say I know precisely what state it's in."

"New Hampshire."

"Huh." Not entirely unexpected, but still.

"You… seem to be taking it well," Jacob said, and I could detect a nervous undercurrent in his tone.

Tabitha sighed. "I... we did our share of panicking earlier, and panicking more won't help us at all, y'know?"

"I think I understand," He said, nodding slowly. "Do either of you remember anything else about it?"

My bodies shook their heads, and I made sure they weren't doing so in synch. "Not a thing."

Jacob hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it sounds like you ran afoul of some cape bullshit."

And now it's time to make stuff up. "Cape?" Tabitha asked as I schooled her features into mild confusion.

He glanced at Tabitha with a slight frown. "You know, parahumans? People with powers?"

I silently thanked my inner power for giving me such good conscious control over my expressions as I shifted my bodies' faces to show nervous uncertainty. "That… that's a thing?" Acacia asked.

"Wait, seriously?" Jacob paused for a moment. "... Does 'Earth Bet' mean anything to you?"

_Oh, like you wouldn't believe,_ I thought. Aloud, with a faint tremor in her voice that was more real than I'd expected, Tabitha said, "I… I think we're a little further from home than I thought we were…" She took a deep, and slightly shaky, breath. Acacia placed a hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to cover it with one of her own.

The three of us rode in awkward silence for a few minutes, passing into Brockton Bay city limits as we did. Eventually, Jacob broke the silence. "Sounds like the two of you need a place to stay for the night."

I had my bodies look at him with cautiously hopeful looks in their eyes. "Um," Tabitha stated ever-so-eloquently. "I mean, we don't want to intrude, but if you're offering…?"

He chuckled. "It's fine. Besides, if my sister learned I hadn't helped you when you needed it, she'd never let me hear the end of it." A fond smile graced his features.

My bodies let out soft sighs of relief. "Even so, thank you," Tabitha said, with all the honest gratitude I had within me. I suppose my good fortune hadn't dried up yet.


	4. IV - Home, But Not Mine

"The hell is that?" Tabitha breathed as Jacob and I stared out the windshield at what he was being directed to detour away from. Half a block away, centered on a grassy median strip, tentacles of wine-dark flame slithered and writhed over the ground. Through my outer power, I could sense that where they touched pavement, they seared out shallow gouges, and where they passed through the grass, they left behind solid calcium. Bone. And it was very much dead. As was the mostly-calcified body near the center of it all.

"Bakuda," Jacob said with a scowl as he turned and I withdrew my outer power once more. "Or, well, one of the bombs she's made. She's been setting them off in the city for nearly a week now, and most of them have weird effects like that. It's why my bosses called me back from vacation; they need every EMT they can get."

So I got dropped here during Bakuda's bombing rampage, huh? I guess that means I'm too late to do anything to prevent, say, Leviathan's attack, in all likelihood. Assuming this was canon Worm, of course. Though if I could leverage my outer power so I could make a living helping with repairs to the city after… Wait, hold up.

I blinked. "You're an EMT?" Tabitha asked, unable to keep all of my surprise out of her voice.

He chuckled, his expression smoothing out. "AEMT, actually. Better pay than a regular EMT, and I can do more stuff, but it's not quite as much of a pain in the ass to get certified for as Paramedic is."

"Oh, I know!" Tabitha said, and this time it was Jacob's turn to blink in surprise. "I took classes to become an EMT a few years back. Got certified for Basic, even, but while I was doing the Advanced class…" She sighed. "Depression is a bitch."

Jacob grimaced in sympathy. "Sorry to hear that."

"Thanks," Tabitha replied with a tight smile. "So! Tell us about this Bakuda person. I assume they're one of those parahumans you mentioned?" Internally, I cringed a little at the act I was putting on, part of me certain I'd fuck it up and he'd get suspicious, but my inner power was quite helpful in keeping any of my worrying from appearing on my faces. "For that matter, what other parahumans are in this city? How many are there?"

"Well," he started as we came to a stop at a red light, "there are several different factions of parahumans here in the bay, along with a number of minor independents…"

**.o.o.o.**

Jacob actually knew quite a bit about the capes of Brockton Bay. Most of his knowledge was about the ones in the various gangs or groups; he didn't know much at all about the various independents, other than the fact that the city always had at least a few, and that they didn't tend to stay independent all that long. Most of it I already knew, save for stuff like the fact that the Merchants only popped up relatively recently, but one fact he mentioned stood out to me. Namely, a little before he'd left on his little vacation, the Undersiders had successfully robbed a bank, and one of their members was a bug controller the PRT had decided to call Skitter.

_I guess it's almost certain that I'm in canon Worm, then,_ I thought to myself. _Unless… well, hopefully I'm not in some shitty stations-of-canon fic or whatever instead._

But regardless of how bad the timing of my arrival here was, there were things I needed to focus on. "So, this PRT," Tabitha started. "If we went to them and told them what happened to us, do you think they'd be able to get us documentation? Like, IDs and all that?"

Jacob frowned thoughtfully. "You would need that, wouldn't you. I don't know if they'd be able to do it themselves, but they'd probably be able to arrange something. And given your situation, I bet they'd get involved anyway, one way or another."

Both of my bodies grimaced. "Better to meet them on our terms," said Acacia.

Jacob met Acacia's eyes in the mirror, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm sorry, I almost forgot you were back there, you've been so quiet. Are you doing alright?"

"My sister doesn't do so well with cars," Tabitha supplied, using the lie I'd thought up just in case this happened.

Acacia nodded. "It's better now that we're not going so fast." And it was; at the speeds Jacob was going now, my outer power's field could keep up with the car, if only barely, so I didn't have to focus so much on compressing it to prevent the headache-causing shearing that'd happened on the freeway.

"Well, that's good." He nodded to himself. "Alright, we're just a few minutes away from my place."

I looked out the windows as we turned into what I assumed was his neighborhood. The houses I saw tended towards being older and small, not the newer, hulking monstrosities that'd replaced many of the houses back home. Most of the lawns I saw were a tad overgrown, and the gardens were a little less than perfect, but somehow that lent an air of authenticity to it all. And the trees! The road we were on was bordered by great, gnarled oaks that arched over us, nearly blotting out the sky with their reaching limbs.

"Oh, this is nice," Acacia murmured, and Tabitha nodded in agreement. Jacob just smiled.

A minute or two later, he pulled into the driveway of a dignified-looking house. It was two stories tall, but not excessively wide, such that I suspected it had an actual backyard beyond it. And the color was…

Even though it wasn't quite the right shade of blue, the sight of it reminded me of my own house and triggered a pang of what could only be homesickness within me. I was surprised, because I hadn't even been away for a full day yet, and I'd never really gotten homesick that I could recall any of the times I'd been away on vacation. Was it the knowledge that I had no way home, that even if I managed to return, there would be no place for me?

… No, that last thought rang false. If I managed to get home, all the oddness aside, I was certain my… my original would help me. If I managed to get home.

The sound of a throat being cleared startled me out of my introspection, and my bodies jumped a little and looked to its source to find Jacob with a slightly concerned expression. "We're here," he said. "Are you okay?"

Tabitha gave him a well-practiced fake smile. "Yeah. Just feeling a little homesick all of a sudden, is all." She glanced back at Acacia, who nodded.

"Ah." Jacob was silent for a moment, then opened his door and got out. "Well, come on, then."

I got out of the car as well and followed him to the front door, which he unlocked and opened, ushering both of me inside. "Hey, Paz!" he called out, as I felt with my power the telltale tremors of approaching footsteps leaving a room with a big, flat… ah, was that a computer monitor? "I'm home! And I've brought guests!"

The footsteps hesitated for a moment at his words, but soon enough, a woman stepped into the entry hall. She was tall, taller than I'd been before I'd changed my selves, and her appearance was rather striking. Her skin was slightly darker than Jacob's was, and her black hair was done up in a pixie cut. She hesitated for a moment, glancing between the two of me and Jacob, before padding over to give him a quick hug. Pulling back, she placed her hands on her hips and asked, "So, who're you two?"

"I'm Tabitha, Tabitha Blair, and-"

"And I'm Acacia," Acacia interrupted, giving Tabitha a brief look.

I had Tabitha twist her mouth a little, then turn back to Paz. "So, yeah. Jacob let us hitchhike with him, and when we told him about our little situation, well…"

"I offered to let them stay with us until things get sorted out for them," he supplied.

I held off on saying anything more as Paz gave me a considering glance. "Okay," she said slowly. "Well, let's get you sat down, and you can tell me all about your situation, alright?"


	5. V - Flowers For Peace

"Oh, you poor dears!" Paz cried, rising from her chair to sweep the two of me into a hug. Tabitha yelped in surprise and both of my bodies stiffened in her arms, before each of me reflexively put an arm around her. Jacob chuckled into his beer from his place leaning against a doorway, which earned him a betrayed glare from Acacia.

Paz had led us into a nicely-decorated living room, complete with a fireplace and pictures on the mantelpiece. She'd directed me to sit on the comfortable navy blue couch, while she took one of the two matching chairs. From there, I'd proceeded to tell her my story. Or, well, an edited version thereof. I left out all mentions of my powers, of course, because… um… okay, so I didn't really know why, but maybe it was better to not reveal that to a couple of strangers? I mean, sure, they seemed nice, and it wasn't like I had any family here to put in harm's way, but, um…

Anyway, yeah. Once I'd finished explaining the whole "dimensionally displaced person with no way home" thing, Paz had made with the hugging. I let Tabitha grimace as I repressed certain memories that the hug brought up, but I didn't push her away. It didn't take much longer for her to release me, thankfully.

"So," Tabitha started as Paz returned to her chair, "Jacob told us about the PRT, and how they might be able to get identification and stuff made for us, since they'll be interested in our circumstances regardless."

"The sooner we're on our feet, the less we'd impose on you," Acacia added in a softer voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that, you're quite welcome here!" Paz replied with a bright smile as she brought her hands together before her. "But yes, we should call them and set up an appointment." Her smile shrank a little. "Of course, given the… unpleasantness currently affecting much of the city, it might be a little while before they can see the two of you."

Acacia looked to Tabitha, who sighed. "Might as well call, I guess."

She pulled out her phone to look up the number, leaving me to ponder what exactly I would say. My situation, obviously, and hopefully they wouldn't think it's just a prank. My needs, and, fuck, I'd need a lawyer if, no, _when_ any paperwork comes up. And just in case the meeting wasn't soon enough for my liking…

"Here." Paz's voice cut through my thoughts, and Tabitha looked up to find her holding out her phone. Acacia nudged her with an elbow, prompting her to take it. "Just press the green call icon and you'll get through."

Tabitha did so and brought it to her ear. In spite of my expectations, it only took two rings before someone picked up. "Hello, PRT East-North-East non-emergency line, how can I help you?" asked a somewhat harried-sounding woman.

"Um." _Yes, great start there, me._ "Hi, there. I'm, uh, I mean, my sister and I, we're in a bit of a situation that I've been told would fall under the PRT's jurisdiction?" My modified hearts were beating faster as familiar anxiety took hold.

"I see. And what sort of situation would you say it is?"

"Well, uh, from what I can understand, we seem to have been forcibly relocated in our sleep to here from another Earth." Before she could interrupt, I powered on, "So in addition to being very, _very_ far from home, we have no identification, no documentation, and no money. And we'd prefer not to do anything illegal to get any of that."

The woman on the other end was silent for a moment, then another. "I… I think I need to get my supervisor. Please hold."

Huh. The on-hold music wasn't actually that bad.

Tabitha sighed, then caught Paz's curious expression. "I'm on hold while she gets her supervisor." She made a silent "oh" of understanding, leaving me to wait in silence. Acacia's hand found Tabitha's, which proved to be more comforting than I'd expected.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before someone picked up. "Hello, thank you for holding," a deep male voice said. "I've been told you need assistance?"

"Yes! Um, did the lady tell you what I told her?"

"She did. You claim that you and your sister were kidnapped from your home, moved across realities, and left here? And that you need help getting identification and the like?"

"Y-yeah, that's about it. Though when you say 'claim', it's… I'm not lying, okay?"

He chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. For what it's worth, I don't believe that this is a prank call or anything of the sort. The circumstances may sound, well, unbelievable, but you don't seem to be doing this for attention. And thankfully, the specifics don't matter too much for my purposes. I believe what you want is an appointment with the PRT, yes?"

Tabitha smiled. "Yes, exactly! When will it be?"

He sighed, and I felt Tabitha's smile fade. "Unfortunately, due to the ongoing incident with the ABB, it might be a while before you can come in. Perhaps in, say, two weeks? You have somewhere you can stay until then, I hope?"

"Oh." Tabitha let out a long breath. "Give me a moment to think?"

"Of course."

Tabitha gave Acacia's hand a squeeze, and Acacia squeezed back, then leaned over a bit to bring their shoulders together. I'd honestly forgotten about the ABB and their little war in my excitement. Just… shit. Of course that'd complicate things. What should… hell. I guess it was time to use that little trump card of mine.

"So, um, would it make any difference if I told you I'm pretty sure my sister and I are parahumans? That's the name, right?"

"I, ah…" Well, I'd rendered him speechless. He took a quick breath, probably to steady himself. "I'll go speak to my superior, see if we can schedule an appointment that's much closer to now. One moment." Ah, the return of the not-terrible hold music.

"And I'm on hold again," Tabitha said as I looked up. Paz had stiffened in her chair, smile fallen from her face. When I turned my eyes to Jacob, I found that he'd pushed away from the doorframe, one eyebrow raised.

Tabitha smiled weakly, while Acacia let out a little sigh. "Yeah, we're parahumans. Pretty sure. Sorry for not warning you."

A small measure of tension left Paz at that. "What… what can you do?" she asked, and I thought I could make out a glimmer of curiosity peeking through.

"I'm, well," Acacia started, then hesitated. "I think what I have could be called terrakinesis?" She shrugged. "This isn't the best place to show it off."

Tabitha chuckled softly, which drew their eyes to her. "And you?" Jacob asked.

She stopped, and was silent for a moment. "Shapeshifting," she said. Holding her arm up so they could see, I sent ripples of melanin across her skin, before returning it to its former pale, befreckled state. But wait, maybe that wouldn't be enough? Taking inspiration from some half-remembered memory, I drew bone from the ulna and out through the skin of my inner wrist. I formed a curved, branching stem a few inches long, then, from each of its tips, I sculpted a lobelia flower from a surprisingly clear mental image. I couldn't quite remember what it symbolized, but most flowers meant good things, so I was probably safe there. Sadly, I couldn't figure out how to make any blue pigment at all to color the petals, much less pigment as vibrant as I'd need to do them justice, so I left them bone white.

Holding the phone between her cheek and shoulder, Tabitha firmly grasped the thinned base of the stem and snapped- _ooh, that felt nice!_ It left my inner power's senses the moment I broke it off, and didn't appear in those of my outer power. I guess it wasn't technically dead yet? In any case, I smoothed over the arm and held the bone flower out to Paz, who hesitantly took it, eyes wide.

"Oh," she said after a moment. "Is this…?"

"Made from some bone," Tabitha confirmed with a smile and nod, then frowned when Paz nearly dropped it.

"Oh, um, thank you," the woman said, twirling the delicate stem between her fingers. "It's pretty," she added, and her smile was genuine.

Tabitha's smile returned, and she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the phone. "Hello, miss?" the man on the other end asked.

"Yes?"

"We could set up an appointment for Monday, at ten thirty in the morning. Is that a good time for you?"

Tabitha grinned. "Yeah, ten thirty on Monday works for us, thanks!"

"And could I get names to identify you?"

"Sure, I'm Tabitha Blair, and my sister is Acacia." As earlier had proven, I didn't exactly have anything to hide.

The man paused. "No cape names?"

"No whats?" Tabitha asked.

"... Nevermind. Have a nice day."

"You as well!" With that, she hung up and placed the phone on the coffee table, then sighed in relief. "Phew, that's taken care of!" Things certainly were looking up.


	6. VI - What is Held, and What Might Be Gon

Acacia's knife sliced through its flesh, and it retaliated as best it could. Sadly, its best could inflict little more than make her eyes sting nicely, as there was little else a mere onion could do.

The stinging was a bit of a surprise, all told. Sure, I knew intellectually that chopping up onions released chemicals that made one's eyes water, but I'd always been spared the experience. I suspected the glasses I'd been wearing for… gosh, had it been a decade and a half already? Anyway, I guess they'd shielded me from the sting. Somehow.

I'll admit, I'm not much of a cook. Sure, I'm not anime-level bad at it; whenever I've tried my hand at it (or, more often, been subtly coerced into doing so), the results tended to be good. Rather, it was the fact that my depression had eviscerated my motivation to do much of anything. Including learning to prepare meals. But on the bright side, I had a decent amount of experience using knives, for cooking and more besides, so a mere onion couldn't hope to best me.

… Wait, why was I making this so dramatic? I had Acacia shake her head, the corners of her lips quirking up at my silliness. She started humming a song whose name I couldn't quite remember as she worked. "Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm… There's still cobwebs in the corners, and the backyard's full of bones… Won't you stay with me my darling? When this house don't feel like home... Hmm-hmm-_hmm_, hmm, hmm, hmm hmm…"

"You have a nice voice," Paz said, and Acacia jumped a little in surprise despite being able to feel her presence with my power through her socks. The knife jerked in her hand, but thankfully only the flat of it hit her fingers, saving her from injury. I'd tried making my bodies' skin tougher when I'd been deciding earlier how I wanted my bodies to look, but it turned out that the first thing my power sacrificed for durability on that front was appearance. I had no interest in falling into the uncanny valley, so I'd left their skin unchanged, for the most part.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Paz exclaimed as she hurried to Acacia's side. "I didn't mean to startle you. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" She took my body's hand in her own, inspecting it for any wounds, then letting out a sigh of relief when she found none. "I'm glad you aren't hurt," she said with a smile.

"Oh, uh, thank you," Acacia said softly as I had a slight blush bloom in her cheeks that highlighted the freckles I'd let her keep. "But, but it would've been fine even if I was!" she hastened to assure Paz.

The woman's head tilted a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ah, I've got a bit of my sister's power, and she's got some of mine. I could've healed myself," she said truthfully, before lying, "but that's all it's really good for for me. That and changing colors, like in my eyes."

"Is that why your eyes are different from your sister's?" Paz asked, suddenly full of curiosity.

"Oh, no, that's natural," Acacia fibbed as I channeled my entirely real enthusiasm for weird biology stuff. "See, Tabitha and I are what's known as 'mirrored twins', so there's the eyes that are opposite, and I'm left handed while she's right handed, and other stuff like that!" And speaking of hands…

Acacia looked down at her right hand, which Paz was still holding, and blushed even harder. Paz followed her eyes, then quickly withdrew her own hands with a blush of her own. The two shared a nervous laugh, even as I let out a mental sigh.

Why was I lying to these two nice people so much? Well, the obvious answer was that while lying wasn't exactly difficult for me, maybe even came a bit naturally, I hadn't gotten as much practice with it as I could over the course of my life. My now-enhanced speed of thought helped, but getting my story straight before trying to sell it to the folks at the PRT couldn't hurt. Hopefully.

It was probably a good thing I'd dialed down my ability to feel guilt to the most minimal level possible.

I was quite happy with my power-granted ability to split my attention several ways. It made it relatively easy to have Acacia cut vegetables left-handed while Tabitha helped Jacob prepare the guest bedroom bed in the right-handed way I'd used all my previous life. It also made crafting and maintaining and improving the metaphorical masks my bodies wore much less tiresome than it could have been. I knew I could split it at least four ways, and probably more, though I got the impression that the cap on it wasn't that far off. But maybe trying another split would let me do something like…

Both Paz and Acacia let out nervous laughter, even as their blushes continued. Acacia' laughing trailed off first, leaving her with a soft smile on her lips. "Thank you again for letting us stay, Paz."

The taller woman blinked. "Oh, no, it's fine! I couldn't just-"

"But you _could_ just, Paz, and you decided to help us, instead. You let two perfect strangers sleep in your house despite how, well, unbelievable our story is. I, I just don't know how we, how _I_, can ever really repay you and your brother."

"You don't need to. Honest." An earnest note enters her voice, along with a subtler one that I don't quite manage to interpret.

"But I do!" Acacia replied, for once on this strangest of days speaking purely from my heart. Her lips twisted into a slightly wry grin. "I may not be as, well, outgoing as Tabitha, but I do have my pride, like she does. 'S why I'm helping out here, even though neither my sister nor I are very good at cooking or other housework. We can follow directions, at least. Make our stay less of a bother, you know?" She turned back to the cutting board even as the little speech she'd made caused her cheeks to heat up without my input and made the last few cuts. "Onion's ready, by the way."

"What?" Paz blinked at the incongruous statement, before her eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh, right! Here, let me." She scooped up the cutting board and its contents, took the knife Acacia proffered handle-first, and went over to the pan on the stove, into which she scraped the chopped bulb with a hiss of heat.

Acacia watched Paz's back while fidgeting for a bit, before blurting out, "You, uh, your house had some cracks in the foundations."

Paz went still at that. "What do you- wait, 'had'?"

"So, uh, you know how I said my power is terrakinesis?" Acacia twisted her hands a little. "W-well, I think that might not be entirely accurate. See, I can sense stuff with it, and I can change what I can sense. I felt that there were some minor cracks down there, and, well, even if they're not huge having them isn't the best thing, right? So I smoothed things together so there are no more cracks, since, uh, I don't know how bad they really were, but I get the feeling they could've been expensive to fix if they got worse. And, well…"

"And you still want to repay us for giving you and your sister a place to stay," Paz cut in softly, giving Acacia a kind smile over her shoulder.

"Yeah." Acacia paused, then gave Paz an exaggerated stern look. "And before you say anything, I don't feel like I've fully paid you back yet."

The other woman laughed, a happy sound in the face of which I couldn't help but let my shyer body smile. "I suppose I can't really argue against that, now, can I?" Her expression turned thoughtful. "There _is_ something I could maybe use your help with after dinner, I suppose."

"Of course!" Acacia replied.

**.o.o.o.**

The favor, as I discovered after the four of us had finished our dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, involved the sensory portion of my outer power. Paz, after confirming that the power let Acacia differentiate between materials that she could sense, asked her to "look" throughout the house for a jewelry box that had belonged to their late mother. Apparently it had been left to her in the will, but she'd never been able to find it, despite much searching for it over the years.

"At this point, I almost expect it to be tucked away in a well-disguised secret compartment or something," she admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle.

It took me nearly an hour of Acacia sitting in the living room with her eyes closed as I had at least five separate divisions of attention combing through the field that suffused the house. Sadly, no secret compartments of any kind turned up, but the jewelry did, in the end. It turned out to be at the bottom of a box of miscellaneous items nearly at the back of their cramped attic. In my boundless wisdom, I elected not to pull it through the ceiling, and instead just guided Jacob to the box in question.

After that was done, and a few hours of mostly truthful (honest!) conversation in which I finally found out what Paz's full name was (Pacífica Cardoso) and what she did for a living (she was a freelance programmer and former hacker who was occasionally hired to use her hacking skills to test the cybersecurity of various companies; more boring than it sounded, or so she claimed), I found myself growing surprisingly sleepy. My bodies soon found their way to the guest bedroom and into the bed therein.

Tabitha had to be really convincing to Jacob as they'd made the bed so that he'd acquiesce to the two "sisters" sharing the bed. He'd been ready to give up his own bed and sleep on the couch, but eventually he conceded the friendly argument. And so, after doffing their identical dresses and hanging them up to air, my bodies slipped under the covers, one hugging a pillow to her chest while the other hugged the first from behind. Their eyes closed in the dark, and I settled in to await Hypnos' embrace.

Eventually, my eyes opened once more. I was sleepy, yes, but thoughts I'd been ignoring had taken the opportunity to bubble up and flit about my mind in a most distracting manner. And, naturally, the majority of them had to do with the things I'd done today.

One thought shouldered its way to the fore: in my efforts to not waste away on a rock in a forest, I had essentially performed brain surgery on myself. Actual, mucking-around-with-the-head-cheese brain surgery. Now that the pall of desperation didn't hang over me, the whole concept seemed rather, well, appalling. But that wasn't the concern that the thought presented to me.

Rather, was I, was this Helena, the same Helena who had woken up this morning?

Was the "real" Helena dead, with the current me being what remained?

The worst part was that there was no way, would never be a way in all likelihood, that I'd ever be able to know the answer for certain. If I really was a distinct entity from the Helena of yesterday, then she was gone, and would never return.

But, wait. A new thought occurred to me. If Helena was dead, then, at the very least, I hadn't killed her. She had done it to herself, in a desperate bid to free herself from the cruel claws of depression. Moreover, if she was dead, and her passing had left me in her place… well.

I saw two possibilities laid out before me. One was that I was the original Helena, if slightly altered. The other was that I had essentially been born from the original Helena's sacrifice. That I was, in essence, her child. Her daughter.

Well.

Now that I'd mentally laid them out, the situation didn't seem so bad. I wasn't religious, really, but just in case, it wouldn't hurt to give the original Helena my thanks and honor her sacrifice. Just in case.

And once I had, I felt better, and I closed my eyes with smiles.


	7. VII - Lost Synchronicity

4/23/2011.

The little numbers sat smugly in the corner of the computer screen, almost taunting me with their presence.

I'd woken up somewhat early this morning, before dawn had even broken. Yet another brain alteration that was proving its worth, one that meant I only needed about six hours of sleep to feel rested, and allowed me to go longer without needing that sleep. Of course, six hours was an eternity compared to what I remembered of Defiant, who could function on, what was it, six _minutes_ of sleep a day? No, no, I shouldn't compare myself to him, thence lay the temptation to muck around with my brains again. Anyway, boy, did feeling rested feel weird. I hadn't even had to deal with a gradual awakening like I normally did; instead of laying around slowly worming my way out of Morpheus' talons for an hour or two, both of my bodies had surged to full wakefulness in a matter of seconds.

I'd had Tabitha get up, dress herself, and head to Paz's leisure computer, which was in a different room from her work computer. She'd logged into the guest account Paz had shown me yesterday. Acacia, I let laze in bed a little longer.

In any case, that was when I saw the date. A significant one, to be sure. On some level, I'd known, from the events that Jacob had told me about, that it was some time in April, in contrast to back home, which had been in the early days of January. Not to mention, twenty-nineteen versus twenty-eleven.

Still, that didn't prepare me for the fact that today was my birthday.

Tabitha sat back in the chair and stared off into nothing. Acacia rolled onto her back and did the same, hugging Tabitha's pillow to her chest. Was it really my birthday? I mean, it had been January back home, after all, so I was technically a few months shy, but maybe if I calculated it all out, I could…

You know what? Fuck it. I'm not going to bother entertaining that notion. April twenty-third was not something I'd give up so easily, even if it had played a part in the choosing of my deadname. It was my birthday, and it being today meant I was twenty seven now. Might as well give myself the gift of not freaking out about it or falling into philosophical melancholy again.

Tabitha shook her head as I worked to remember how I'd been shown how to open the browser on this operating system. It was rather jarring, how different it was from what I'd used back home, and somehow the little bits that were similar didn't really help. But in any case, I intended to have Tabitha look up potential cape names for my bodies, since the ones that sprung to mind, Knabbern and Knirschen, were, well, ruined by the fact that the E88 existed. Fucking Neo-Nazis, ruining perfectly good names…

In any case, while Tabitha was busy with that, Acacia finally got up and got dressed, before heading down to exit through the back door. Once there and digging through the grass with her feet to touch dirt, I reached straight down with my outer power's field until I felt stone. Basalt, it seemed, which… wait, I was right about that in my first Wormfic? Huh. As I marveled over that little tidbit, I brought a chunk of the stone to the surface. I had a couple days before my appointment with the Protectorate, but that didn't mean I had to put off working on costume ideas.

**.o.o.o.**

Naturally, once my hosts had awakened and we were all having breakfast, I ended up accidentally letting slip what today was. Because of course. Paz enthusiastically took it upon herself to take both of me clothes shopping "as a birthday present". Tabitha and Acacia protested as much as my pride demanded, but she insisted, and eventually I gave in. I really did need the clothes, after all.

I couldn't find it in myself to protest the nice chocolate cake at the end of the day, of course.

The day after, Sunday, was spent with Acacia and Tabitha alternating between looking stuff up on Paz's computer and helping out with chores. Some of the computer time was spent looking up random stuff (including making accounts on PHO), mostly to get a feel for the bits of Earth Bet's America that hadn't come through with its unreliable narrator, but a decent chunk was spent on exhaustive research into bus schedules in the city to minimize my chances of mistakes that might lead to lateness. Some things just don't change, I guess.

Naturally, when the subject was raised at dinner that day, Jacob mentioned that he was perfectly willing to take me in his car, thus rendering all that effort moot. Ah, well. Guess I can't really complain, though.

And so it was that my bodies were staring up at the glass edifice that was the Brockton Bay Parahuman Response Team Headquarters at ten-past-ten the following day. It was… honestly a little disappointing to look at. The only thing that made it stand out even a little from the other buildings in the area was the shield logo above the entrance that bore the organization's initials. I couldn't quite remember what the in-story description for the place had been, but surely it wasn't this, well, bland?

Acacia shook her head. It didn't matter, in the end. What did, was the help I could get within.

My bodies were wearing clothing that Paz had bought for us, and I quite liked the outfits. Tabitha was wearing a nice, long-sleeved, green blouse and a dark gray, pleated skirt that went spinny in a very satisfying manner when I tried it. It also, miracle of miracles, had actual, functional pockets! Hopefully I wouldn't get detained for possessing unlicensed tinkertech. Some nice thigh high socks in a shade of green similar to the blouse and some sensible shoes completed the outfit, and she bore a smaller-than-average, very dark gray briefcase in front of her in both hands.

Acacia, on the other hand, had a very different outfit. She wore a flannel shirt that had, for some reason, caught and held Paz's attention after Acacia had picked it out to try on, worn unbuttoned over a plain blue t-shirt. Instead of a skirt, she had a pair of rather snug skinny jeans. I'd never thought much of skinny jeans before, since they seemed like they'd take too much effort to get on to be worth it, but shapeshifting had solved that issue quite handily. And when I'd finally seen how they looked on her, I felt such a burst of gender euphoria that I'd absolutely had to get them. Not to mention, they made Acacia's legs look great. The black boots I'd made in the forest completed the ensemble, and she carried a blue cloth bag that made me feel nostalgic for some reason.

Tabitha glanced at Acacia, who met her eyes. With a nod from each to the other, they strode through the doors.

**.o.o.o.**

There was less of a line than I'd been expecting, all told, but it was just long enough for the two of me to take in the view of the lobby.

There were guards, of course, because villains, being a subset of humans, weren't always smart. Four of them, armored in kevlar and chain mesh, with helmets that concealed their faces and not a scrap of skin showing. Each had a pistol and what looked like a submachine gun, and while two had grenade launchers hanging across their fronts, the other two wielded what could only be the famous containment foam launchers. They were more… compact than I'd always pictured, and instead of the business end resting under the arm like a leaf blower, they were much thinner tubes, with two hand grips. I've got no idea why my mind had always pictured them the way it had, but whatever.

Aside from the guards, there was a wide desk with a pair of receptionists, and people in suits with papers in their hands hurrying here and there. There was also a gift shop, though at this hour it was, for the most part, empty. I didn't pay it much attention, since I didn't exactly have any money.

"Next, please."

My bodies' heads snapped up to focus on the receptionist who had spoken, and she blinked in surprise. With an internal grimace I had my bodies approach her, taking care to make sure they weren't acting in synch. "Hello," Tabitha said softly. "We're here for a ten-thirty appointment."

"Alright." She clacked away at her keyboard for a moment or two. "Is there a name that this appointment might be listed under?"

"Um, it might be under Blair?"

Some more typing. "Yes, there it is." She gave Tabitha a well-practiced smile. "Mr. Ruoho will be with you shortly. You may have a seat over there while you wait." She gestured to a set of chairs along one wall.

Tabitha and Acacia smiled back at her. "Thank you." They walked over and sat down, with Acacia holding her bag in her lap while Tabitha set her case down gently on the floor with a small _thunk_. Then they leaned back and settled in to wait.


	8. VIII - Hands Sharp, Hands Held

It was like someone had taken the basic idea of an interrogation room and tried to soften the edges, blunt the corners, make it less threatening. Whoever it was had succeeded, in part. Sure, there wasn't a big mirror in the wall for people to sneakily observe through. The table wasn't bolted to the floor, it didn't have the metal loops for handcuffs to be threaded through, and the chairs looked surprisingly comfortable. Still, none of that changed how bare and bleak the walls were, without a single window, or how solid the door looked.

Okay, sure, I could feel through my outer power that the door was actually hollow, painted wood, and that the reason for the lack of windows was probably because the room was closer to the core of the building than the sides, but still. Its appearance didn't exactly lend itself to relaxation.

That said, with my powers, I simply couldn't be confined, which really helped ease my nerves. The field of my outer power actually covered the entirety of the building with only a little adjustment, and a mere door could be twisted into parted gossamer fangs to grant me exit with the greatest of ease.

If the building were solid, it would be much too big for me, but since buildings are mostly empty space, I could feel the whole thing, from the helipad on the roof to the dome of the Wards HQ in the basement. Empty sets of clothing walked around or sat at desks, the bodies within not registering to my power. I could even pick out the ink that formed words on paper, and with some effort I might be able to decipher what was written. My attention split a dozen ways, most racing off to explore what I could while two remained with my bodies to shake the hand of the man who had led the two of me here. Tabitha's grip was firmer than Acacia's.

"Have a seat, please," he said with an easy smile, gesturing to the two chairs on one side of the table. He'd introduced himself as Taisto Ruoho when he'd arrived in the lobby to collect me. With his neatly parted blond hair, gray eyes behind round-lensed glasses, and business-casual outfit, he looked every inch an unremarkable paper-pusher. I certainly didn't remember him from the story, assuming he even featured at all. He looked my age, perhaps younger.

Tabitha and Acacia each took a seat, with Acacia further from the door. Taisto (it felt weird to think of him as "Mr. Ruoho", given our relative ages) settled into one of the chairs opposite them, setting the folder he'd been carrying on the table. "Alright," he said, steepling his fingers. "How are the two of you doing today?"

"I'm doing alright," my bodies said, almost, but deliberately not quite, in synch. Tabitha gave her sister a toothy grin, while Acacia gave her a smaller, closed-lipped smile in return. "I was almost expecting one of your parahumans to meet us, to be honest," my flannel-wearing body said.

"They're a bit too busy, what with all the gang-related, ah, unpleasantness happening recently," he replied with an apologetic smile. His expression slipped almost seamlessly from friendly to serious, and his focus remained on Acacia. "I was briefed on your call, but if you could restate what the two of you are seeking assistance with? Just to make sure we're all on the same page."

My bodies blinked, and Tabitha forced a smile as the stress of the situation returned. "Ah, yeah," she started, and Taisto hurriedly turned his focus to her. "Actually, I think I might not have remembered to say some things we _want_ help with, in addition to what we need." He nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Well, first off, there's the stuff you've probably been briefed on, how we were basically taken from our Earth as we slept and left on a fu- a rock in the woods on this one." I quickly dialed down that emotional response and left a note etched into Acacia's skull to remind me to reset it later. Tabitha covered my pause by taking a deep, calming breath, before continuing, "Thus, we have no identification, no documentation, no money, and no way to get any of that on our own."

"Not legally, at least," Acacia interjected, and Tabitha gave her a tight smile.

"Yeah, that. I… well, I don't want to turn to crime, even if it's for the sake of survival, which I guess is pretty obvious since we're talking to law enforcement and all. But… yeah." Tabitha's strained smile turned a touch more genuine. "The people who were kind enough to give us a place to stay said that if anyone could help us, it'd be the PRT."

"They would be correct," Taisto said with a smile of his own.

"Yeah, we figured, especially after we did some research. There are those other parahumans-"

"The ones with mutations and amnesia," Acacia supplied. Tabitha gave her a side-eye.

"... Yeah, them. We figured that, since a number of them have been able to get accommodations for that, y'all would be able to do something similar for us, given our circumstances are kind of similar, save, y'know, we don't have amnesia or mutations or the like."

"Of course," Taisto nodded. "Just for the sake of thoroughness, though, do either of you have a mark or tattoo shaped like an omega anywhere on you?"

"I don't," Tabitha replied promptly. "My power gives me an awareness of my body, so I'd know if I had anything like that on me. Acacia doesn't have one either, I think." She gave her sister a questioning glance, and received a head shake in return.

"Okay, that's interesting," Taisto murmured, jotting down some notes in nearly illegible handwriting on a small notepad he'd pulled out at some point. He returned his attention to me. "That actually leads into another question I'm supposed to ask: what are your powers?"

Acacia's hand found Tabitha's under the table, and I jumped a bit internally at the unexpected contact. _That… No. Later._ I made another note next to the previous one, and Tabitha gave her sister's hand a squeeze.

None of this showed on her face as she said, "Well, I guess I'd describe my power as shapeshifting." She held up her free hand and had ripples of melanin flow across its surface for a couple moments before returning her skin to its normal, freckled appearance. Then, her fingertips opened up like little mouths, complete with tiny, sharp teeth. Those teeth were soon shoved to the sides, though, by wickedly curved, bone-white, razor-edged claws that emerged from each mouth's gullet in an inversion of a sword swallower's technique. I examined them for a moment or two, admiring the way they glistened wetly under the room's fluorescent lighting, turning Tabitha's hand this way and that and flexing her fingers.

Acacia's eyes had been on Taisto's face throughout the process, and through them I got to watch as his eyes went wide, his face lost color, and his mouth fell slightly agape. I grinned internally as I savored his horrified expression like a fine wine, but I managed to keep Acacia's expression from growing beyond a small smile. Then, before the scene had managed to overstay its welcome, she cleared her throat pointedly.

Both Taisto and Tabitha jumped a little at the sound, and I had her blush a little and give him a slightly sheepish smile. His eyes went to her teeth, then quickly looked away. The claws retracted with a soft _squelch_, tiny tongues lapped up stray droplets of drool, and the mouths closed, leaving Tabitha's fingers looking like nothing had happened to them. By that point, Taisto had managed to get his own expression under control, and he hurriedly scrawled something in his notes.

"Okay, then," he said, returning his attention to Tabitha. "That was… visceral. Is, is that all?"

"Oh, uh, not quite." Time for a bit of bullshitting. "I've also got this power that lets me feel vibrations from the ground, but I don't exactly have a snappy name for it. It lets me feel people's footsteps and stuff, how far away they are, which way they're going, that sort of thing. Like, I can tell that there are, um, a couple dozen people or so walking around or standing or whatever on this floor, and more above and below us." Plan Two-Person Pseudo Cluster is a go, I guess.

He let out a breath that he'd apparently been holding, and turned to Acacia. "And you?"

"Well," she said, drawing out the word, "my powers are rather different from my sister's." Her free hand came up, and she started tracing circles on the table's surface with her finger. "I originally thought of it as a sort of terrakinesis, but that isn't quite right, since I can affect more than just rock and dirt. In fact, it seems like I can use it on pretty much anything that's solid and not alive that's in my range, like… like this." Ripples had begun to form around her finger in the table's surface, as if a raindrop had fallen into a pool of water, and the results had frozen in time. Each pass of her finger left more ripples to push the old ones outwards, forming a spiral of rounded ridges, while in the center, a small spike began to slowly rise. "I can do bigger stuff than just this, of course. But I'm sure that wouldn't be appreciated here."

She stopped moving her hand, then raised it, only to bring it down with a _smack_ on the center of the spiral of ripples she'd made. A circular pass over the rest of it, and all that was left was a table as flat as it had been before being subjected to her power, if with a rather obvious distortion of the faux-woodgrain surface.

"Now," she continued, "I do have another power, but it's not very power_ful_. Basically, I can alter my own cosmetic features, like my eye color or skin tone." She shut her eyes for a moment, and when they opened again they were bright green. Another long blink and I'd returned them to their usual blue shades. "It's useful, and it lets me have a costume that leaves my eyes visible, since heterochromia like ours isn't exactly common. But minor feature changes aren't exactly a game changer, I don't think."

Taisto jotted down some more notes, nodding to himself as he did, before setting the notepad aside and placing his hands on the folder. "Well, then. I'm not with the PR department, but I think we can work with your powers and circumstances. Now-"

"Wait, wait," Tabitha interrupted, giving voice to the confusion I felt. "What do you mean, 'work with'?"

Taisto blinked. "We, uh… The two of you are here to join the Protectorate and get documenting handled, right?"

"Nnnnnot really? I mean, we need ID's and stuff, yeah, but… well…"

"We did some research between when Tabby scheduled this appointment and now," Acacia piped up. "And, well, we kind of don't want to join y'all, given all the fighting. 'S not really what we, well, what _I_ want to do with my life, and I'm sure Sis will agree with me." She glanced at Tabitha, who nodded. "Yeah. And I thought, my power is good for fixing stuff, and since fights between parahumans seem to often cause damage to stuff like roads, we could get paid for fixing that!"

She smiled brightly at Taisto, who slowly sat back in his chair. He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, messing up the neat part. "Okay. I think… I think I need to get some different paperwork." He got up from his seat, collecting his things, then paused. "Um. I, uh, can't leave you two here alone. Regulations. But I'm pretty sure I can't take you to where I can get the paperwork. And someone who knows more about Rogue stuff." He ran his hand through his hair again, before suddenly snapping his fingers. "There's a break room on the next floor up. I can take you there, and then go get what I need. Who I need. Sound good?"

"Um, by break room, do you mean the room over there," Tabitha pointed up and to the side, "with five people sitting down in it?"

Taisto's face went blank for a moment, before understanding dawned and relief filled his eyes. "Oh, good, there's people there. Good. Yes. So?"

Tabitha grabbed the briefcase's handle and stood, with Acacia following not long after. "Sure, let's go."

**.o.o.o.**

And just like that, my bodies found themselves seated in a very average-looking breakroom with five average-looking office workers. Thankfully, it seemed that no one had ever inflicted the truly villainous crime of cooking fish in the microwave upon this room. Sanity prevailed.

The people here paid more attention to their meals or to the news program on the TV than they did to either of me, which I didn't mind. I'd been idly watching the news, too, at first just because it was the smart thing to do, with my recent arrival. But that was before the subject took a rather concerning turn.

Scion was here.

Well, not _here_, here. Rather, he was hovering above the forest to the north of the city, above a rather familiar stone sculpture, as he had been for the past couple of days. Whatever reason he had for snooping around the spot where I'd appeared, it probably wasn't good, and the thought had my altered guts twisting in knots.

The reporter whose crew had actually trekked out into the woods to do a live bit on it was yammering about how Scion had apparently been just starting to help with the cape-caused fires ravaging the city of Galle, in Sri Lanka, when he'd abruptly stopped and fucked off. Well, she didn't use those words, exactly, but I didn't really care. He'd then flown halfway around the world to just hang in the sky, motionless, for days. Why?

"Hey, uh, kid?" My bodies jumped a bit, and turned to look at one of the people, an almost middle-aged woman. She blinked, then asked, "Are you alright, there?"

It was Tabitha's turn to blink. "Oh, uh, yeah," she started to say, only to be interrupted by a truly horrendous sound, like the tortured shrieks of steel and stone and snakes and so much more, all blended into one, coming from the TV. I turned to look, only to stare slack-jawed at what I saw.

A huge distortion hung in the air before the entity, whose arms were spread as if he'd torn something in half. And he had.

He'd torn a hole in reality.


End file.
